OK so i have lots of questions

[Mario1105]

i dont want to wait till school to find out and i dont have anyone else to ask so here goes.

1. do emt-b's get to get there hands dirty after school or do we just transport mostly.

Ill have more later but this one is my most important question i cant wait as u can tell im verry excited.

[fireflymedic]

i dont want to wait till school to find out and i dont have anyone else to ask so here goes.

1. do emt-b's get to get there hands dirty after school or do we just transport mostly.

Ill have more later but this one is my most important question i cant wait as u can tell im verry excited.

Depends on where and what type of service you work. You work fire - you'll prolly do some patient care and package for buggy to transport. BLS tiered is same way. If you are only a BLS service (ie an all BLS county or just one medic) you will be doing alot of emergency stuff and having to work for your paycheck. ALS service, hate to say it, but most likely you'll be the medic's chauffeur and gopher. Transport services are mostly dialysis runs and non emergent interfacility stuff, but not too bad depending on what you get. Just depends on where you go and what you want to do. Rural typically gives the best BLS experience as few medics around and longer transport, but pay is notoriously bad. Urban pays well, but your medic's gopher. Transport can go either way - some pay well, some pay terrible.

Edited December 29, 2009 by fireflymedic

[scott33]

do emt-b's get to get there hands dirty

Depends on how dirty the paramedic's bags are

Edited December 29, 2009 by scott33

[Mario1105]

Depends on where and what type of service you work. You work fire - you'll prolly do some patient care and package for buggy to transport. BLS tiered is same way. If you are only a BLS service (ie an all BLS county or just one medic) you will be doing alot of emergency stuff and having to work for your paycheck. ALS service, hate to say it, but most likely you'll be the medic's chauffeur and gopher. Transport services are mostly dialysis runs and non emergent interfacility stuff, but not too bad depending on what you get. Just depends on where you go and what you want to do. Rural typically gives the best BLS experience as few medics around and longer transport, but pay is notoriously bad. Urban pays well, but your medic's gopher. Transport can go either way - some pay well, some pay terrible.

i dont care about pay i want to get my hands dirty, gain exp and earn my money i live in a tiny little state all hospitals are a max 30min out driving at normal pace

like i said i want to be a paramedic so anything i can do to help me gain knowledge along the way will be huge (sorry if that sounded rude its not in anyway i promise)

[fireflymedic]

i dont care about pay i want to get my hands dirty, gain exp and earn my money i live in a tiny little state all hospitals are a max 30min out driving at normal pace

like i said i want to be a paramedic so anything i can do to help me gain knowledge along the way will be huge (sorry if that sounded rude its not in anyway i promise)

I apologize in advance, I know nothing of RI's systems or their structure, so I can't point you in a decent direction as I know absolutely no one from that area. Sorry. However, as I said, rural typically will give you your best experience and you will have alot less of your paragod mentality (from my experience) than in urban. That being said, urban has it's own challenges and you'll just have to give both a try and see what fits better for you. One isn't better than the other, but that being said, after working urban for a year, I RAN back to rural because I am used to doing everything on the fly and doing very little other than the absolute musts on scene because you were so far out. Also, some of the best teachers I came across were rural medics because they did the job because they truly loved it. On the flip side though, sometimes you see crappy providers because call volume is low, generally low acuity, but when it's bad it gets bad quick and very little safety cushion. Can be a major pucker factor for experienced provider, much less a new certed basic. But urban you'll likely be paired with a medic - so greater chance for paragod mentality, but you'll likely find better skill maintenance due to frequency of calls, and there is definitely a security blanket for a new person knowing the hospital isn't that far away. Take care, enjoy and have fun !

[Mario1105]

I apologize in advance, I know nothing of RI's systems or their structure, so I can't point you in a decent direction as I know absolutely no one from that area. Sorry. However, as I said, rural typically will give you your best experience and you will have alot less of your paragod mentality (from my experience) than in urban. That being said, urban has it's own challenges and you'll just have to give both a try and see what fits better for you. One isn't better than the other, but that being said, after working urban for a year, I RAN back to rural because I am used to doing everything on the fly and doing very little other than the absolute musts on scene because you were so far out. Also, some of the best teachers I came across were rural medics because they did the job because they truly loved it. On the flip side though, sometimes you see crappy providers because call volume is low, generally low acuity, but when it's bad it gets bad quick and very little safety cushion. Can be a major pucker factor for experienced provider, much less a new certed basic. But urban you'll likely be paired with a medic - so greater chance for paragod mentality, but you'll likely find better skill maintenance due to frequency of calls, and there is definitely a security blanket for a new person knowing the hospital isn't that far away. Take care, enjoy and have fun !

well thank you very much for your feedback and i will for sure give both a try

[medic_texas]

What do you mean by "get my hands dirty"? You mean experience or blood and guts?

Experience will come with time. If you work with a busy service, experience comes sooner than later. If you work with a busy 911 service, you could have the blood, guts, glory, and experience.

It just depends on where you work. If you plan to stay in a rural area, you'll get some good experience but again, how busy is this service?

Good luck to ya!

[Mario1105]

What do you mean by "get my hands dirty"? You mean experience or blood and guts?

Experience will come with time. If you work with a busy service, experience comes sooner than later. If you work with a busy 911 service, you could have the blood, guts, glory, and experience.

It just depends on where you work. If you plan to stay in a rural area, you'll get some good experience but again, how busy is this service?

Good luck to ya!

i mean i want to put the skills and education i got in school to use instead of wasting my education and i want tons of experience from trained and excellent medics. as for where i live i dont even hear the scanner go off that much if at most 10-20 times a day for the entire metro area i hear more radio checks then i do dispatch calls lol so when i get my b im going to save up so money and move to a much more busy state and take the transfer test or what ever i need to change my license to a different state ( i heard of a nice school in texas i would like to apply to)for medic training

Edited December 29, 2009 by Mario1105

[VentMedic]

move to a much more busy state and take the transfer test or what ever i need to change my license to a different state ( i heard of a nice school in texas i would like to apply to)for medic training

The EMT-B is barely a good start in medicine. Take a few college level A&P classes and work a BLS transport truck until you can get into Paramedic school. You will have your own private lab with live patients to learn assessments, communication skills and read the charts where you will see disease names and meds that you will not get to in a 911 service. You will be way ahead of most Paramedics who ignored these opportunities when they were working BLS transfer because they just wanted the "action". The dialysis patient is probably one of the sickest patients you can have daily on your truck and yet, so few even take the time to know why the patient is on dialysis except for "renal failure". The acute rehab patients your transfer for advance physical therapy may have been some Paramedic's save from a trauma, CVA or cardiac arrests. They deserve someone who is attentive and they are probably over being the center of some EMT's "excitement". You might also see what happens to spinal cord injuries and learn how these are stabilized once they reach the hospital. You might also see how hospitals document how a patient is presented to them from the EMT(P)s especially for spinal and head traumas. That can help you later when you start doing 911 calls and will be giving report to the ED staff. They do take notes on everything even if they appear not to be paying attention. It would also be interesting just to read the extent of their injuries and see how they have progressed. It can be a big motivator for you to continue your education to learn how to better serve these patients or the ones you will see in the future as fresh traumas or cardiac arrests.

Take advantage of asking questions of other health care professionals when you do transport patients in a more controlled environment. Network and you might be surprised at the opportunities that come your way. If you don't make good use of the opportuniites given to you on a BLS truck, don't get your expectations up to high when you get on an ALS truck.

And again, never forget that the BLS or "BS" transfer patient or the dialysis patient could have been another EMT(P)'s save. Treat them with respect. They've got a lot to offer for anyone who is interested in "medicine".

Edited December 29, 2009 by VentMedic

[WordyMedic]

VentMedic is right on and pretty much just said eveything I was going to say so read his post...twice! Even if you are in an area where Basics have the opportunity to go straight to 911 or Rescue, the amount of experience, education, and knowledge you can eke out of stable and/or routine transports (such as dialysis and interfacility transfers) is unrivaled, even by slinging the many nauseous, overdosed, or seizing 911 patients around the back of your ambulance. Always, always use your resources and for BLS transport work that includes talking to your patients, reading their paperwork and charts, asking the nurses and doctors questions about medicine, prognosis, treatments, diagnosis etc. It will not only prepare you to be a better provider, but will also give you more time to concentrate on the different mindsets, approaches, and multi-tasking that 911 calls demand of you. Your career as a pre-hospital provider is largely what you make it, so make yourself proficient in all areas of pre-hospital care! And for the Love of All Things Sacred, keep them hands CLEAN!!!!!! (EMT-B rule #1: your safety-B.S.I., baby!)